Annoying friends, underage drivers, and a decent strip

So apparently there are times when I actually have to work at work, and work at home. So today is catch-up day!

I suppose the top panel of today's strip has happened to me--we've all experienced boring people who talk our ears off. I don't think I've ever heard any of them ever say anything like, "Let me go," though. The rest, sure--they've got stuff to do, etc. (Which does rightfully make you roll your eyes.) I could almost see the "Let me go" comment if the person saying it was joking, but that obviously isn't the case here. I also think Al needs to cut back on the use of cobwebs; he's been using them a lot lately.

Yesterday's strip was frustrating because there is NO WAY that Junior looks anywhere near old enough to drive. Al drew him the same way he draws small children, so Junior looks like he's maybe 10, which just makes the strip frightening. As for Junior's predicament, it's a tough one. Honestly, if I were him and found talking on the phone to be that much of a distraction (and I admit that I do occasionally talk on the phone while driving), I'd just let it ring and deal with the consequences. Obviously his mother won't be happy, but the alternative is getting smooshed by a huge truck while ramming into the side of another car. And what is up with the seat in my car? It looks like a couch cushion.

Tuesday's strip was, as I know, submitted by a reader of the Comics Curmudgeon. You can tell because it's a decent concept, and is even well executed. I think we can all relate to that, though in my experience, the beginning of the message isn't so much a person saying "ah" and "um" a lot so much as rambling about whatever pops into the person's head. The buttons on the right side of the phone/answering machine confuse me a bit, but I'll give props to Al for actually drawing a cordless phone. Good work!

Someone call Al Gore

I was momentarily confused about today's strip (which, honestly, isn't that rare an occurrence) because I had thought that Don Downer was speaking at some sort of luncheon and honestly don't see anything odd about him ending with pleasantries. Though I did find the people's expressions a bit odd, in that situation.

Upon rereading, though, it becomes important to know what kind of tone he's using. If he's sarcastic, then it makes perfect sense. Or even sad, depressed. Tone matters, and you can't get it from this strip. I still do find the others' expressions a bit odd; I imagine they all know what this guy is like, so most people would probably just ignore him.

And what is this "earth warming" I keep hearing about?

TV, hospitals, and more tv

Wednesday's strip makes no sense to me. The basic problem is that if a movie is being aired on television, then it's already out on tape. (And, by the way, Al, most of us buy DVDs nowadays.) If it's on tv and not already released for purchase, then you're probably watching it on pay-per-view or On Demand...and in both cases, you'd be seeing the original uncut version. And if the movie is that bad, then it's probably rated R, which the parents should've noticed. So, no sympathy from me. I do like the replacement use of "You're just a meany--you ol' fuddy duddy." We just don't use the phrase "fuddy-duddy" enough these days.

Yesterday's strip once again takes us to a hospital (although submitted by someone from DC, not Florida, so that's nice). Do hospitals actually provide menus to their patients like this? That would be obnoxious if you were given a choice and didn't get it...but really, is this an actual situation? We don't know why this guy is in the hospital (no IV or bandages), but roast beef, mashed potatoes, pie, coffee, and biscuits (mmm, biscuits) does not sound like something that a hospital would offer to most of its patients. At least there aren't any totally bizarro foods mentioned.

Is it wrong that in today's strip, I'm more interested in the food on the table than in the actual substance of the strip? I didn't think so. I'm just trying to figure out whether that's a fast food bag next to the hamburger and the bottle of ketchup. Or is that soda? Probably soda. Maybe those are fries? I'm not sure. I appreciate the newspaper proclaiming that the ballgam that Arfo wanted to watch was a "big game"--subtle. Nice. Why he's so intent on listening to the news, though, is beyond me. Unless he's making a point about not being able to hear the tv. Situations like this always get me. I assume that Arfo and Migraina have been married for a while. He's sitting about 1 foot from the television. I refuse to believe that he can't just tune out his wife. But I do feel for Arfo. It reminds me of growing up, my dad would insist on having the tv on a certain channel...and then would read a newspaper. But we weren't allowed to change the channel. Typical.

Mmm, achin' bacon

Today's strip is annoying because it's trying to equate two totally different situations. In the top panel, there's a problem because the doctor is trying to communicate with Barfo using lots of big words. The problem here is not Barfo, it's Doc Epsom. He's not doing his job and letting a patient know what's wrong with him and what he needs to do for it.

There is no problem in the bottom panel. Barfo is communicating with the chef, who understands the shorthand that's being used. To make it like the top panel, Barfo would be using that language to, say, give the diners the dinner specials. It'd be one thing if Barfo were also a doctor and couldn't understand what Epsom was saying. But this? No.

And please. The King's English? The only thing that matters is that the person being spoken to understands what's being said.

A manure joke would've made this funnier

I guess in today's strip we're supposed to get upset over the guy using the Latin names for the plants. And I wouldn't know that except for the blue guy at the bottom with his "balonius galoreum." Really, the questioner had to know what he was getting into. He clearly knew that Humusby is an avid gardener, and like most people who are really interested in a subject, Humusby likes to talk about it. It would be like someone coming up to me, knowing that I really like musical theatre, and asking me what I think of Les Mis. Or, knowing that I'm a history buffy, asking me about Thomas Jefferson or John Wilkes Booth. Get ready for the long haul, folks. I mean, sure, I might try to control myself, but it doesn't always work.

And at least Humusby is giving interesting little descriptions of the plants. The questioner can be like, "Oh, the bubarossius agrivatus sounds nice--not much care, you say? Does it have a more common name?" Or is that being too polite and logical for this strip?

What I keep coming back to is the picture of the questioner. He reminds me of the cartoons of Washington Post columnist Gene Weingarten. Naturally I can't find one of these cartoons at the moment, but that's frequently how he's pictured. To the point where I almost want to e-mail it to Gene for his thoughts. I mean, this guy doesn't look like the typical inhabitant of TDIET. But who knows.

Edited to say that I found one of the cartoons! Compare for yourself here.

Seriously, folks. You don't want to get me started on John Wilkes Booth.